Ernst Messerschmid

Born in 1945, Ernst Messerschmid was appointed research astronaut in 1983. He underwent two years of training before he flew on the Spacelab D1 mission. Along with two other Germans, Ulf Merbold and Reinhard Furrer, the aspiring astronaut underwent a comprehensive training program that included medicine and an introduction to spaceflight. He and Reinhard Furrer, were aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle mission that launched on 30 October 1985 also called the D1 mission.